I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince - Chapter 145

Elisha leaned close to Lucas, who wore an expression as if the world had ended, and whispered softly into his ear.

“Dad, this is a secret, but I actually love you the most. More than Oliver and Re-Dad, I love Ru-Dad the most. So please don’t be too sad.”

The sorrow that had been swelling in his chest quietly melted away at his daughter’s sweet words.

Even so, as the days passed, Lucas couldn’t help but feel the emptiness where Elisha used to be. Each time he was reminded of her absence, a wave of sadness returned.

Almost every night, he dreamt of Elisha crying and calling out for him. He would wake drenched in sweat, the dreams leaving a hollow ache in his chest. After each of those dreams, Lucas sat down and wrote her letters.

They were filled with familiar reminders. To stay warm, to eat well, to always dress neatly, and to listen carefully to Aunt Michelle and Uncle Sion. Words she had heard countless times already, and yet he wrote them anyway.

And every time, regret flooded in. If he was going to miss her this much, perhaps he should never have let her go.

Sometimes he could not even bring himself to send the letters. Instead, he would hold them tightly to his chest.

Leon, watching Lucas from nearby, would tease him with a gentle tone.

“Did you act like this when you let me go too? Writing all these letters and never replying to mine?”

When Leon said things like that, the thoughts of Elisha that had filled Lucas’s mind would fade, replaced by memories of the past.

Yes, he thought. It was something to be thankful for. To have Leon by his side, for a lifetime. That alone was enough.

That evening, Lucas wrote yet another letter to Elisha. Then he went to bed early.

These days, he was sleeping whenever he found the chance.

Part of it was that no amount of rest seemed to ease the exhaustion. But perhaps, more than that, it was something deeper.

Maybe all this sleep was his way of escaping a reality without Elisha in it.

Lucas lay in bed with his legs stretched out neatly and closed his eyes. Before he even realized he had fallen asleep, he was already dreaming.

A snowy field spread out before him, and behind it stood a dark and dense forest. He didn’t need to step inside to know exactly where it was. It was the same place where Michelle had once been injured.

A sense of dread rose in his chest. Lucas shouted, “Elisha!” and ran straight into the forest.

But instead of the landscape he expected, the forest was strangely peaceful. Blue-green trees lined the path, and there was a small hill nearby. At the center of it all was a quiet little pond where fish leapt playfully from the water.

What is this place? It looked like the same forest, yet everything felt completely different.

Lucas, still filled with unease, began searching the area. But no matter where he looked, there was no sign of Elisha.

Could she have fallen into the pond? The thought chilled him. Without a moment of hesitation, he rushed forward to enter the water.

Just then, something small and soft launched itself into his arms.

A faint whimper followed.

A tiny ball of fluff climbed up his shoulder and nuzzled against his cheek. Lucas instinctively caught it in one hand and held it up.

It was a tiger cub with bright orange fur and black stripes, so small and adorable that it made him smile.

“So this is where you were hiding.”

Relieved, Lucas hugged the little cub and rubbed his cheek against it. But something didn’t feel right.

The cub was far too small to be Elisha.

“You’re not Elisha, are you? Maybe you’re another cub entirely.”

Still cradling the tiger in his arms, Lucas gently stroked its back. The soft fur slipped between his fingers.

The poor thing must have lost its parents and ended up wandering the forest alone.

“Where are your parents? You’re so young. Were you abandoned because you’re part monster too?”

Of course, the cub could not answer. Lucas held it tightly to his chest, pressing his nose into its fur. A familiar scent tickled his senses.

It was bittersweet, like dark chocolate.

Leon.

The scent was still faint, so he could not be completely sure, but it was definitely Leon’s.

Even with his eyes closed, Lucas could picture Leon perfectly. The markings on Leon’s back were sharper and more defined than the ones on this tiger cub.

Lucas buried his nose once again into the soft fur to confirm the scent, but before he could take another breath, his eyes flew open.

It was a dream.

He could not believe a dream could feel so vivid. Even after waking, the sensation of the soft fur in his hand and the bittersweet smell of dark chocolate seemed to linger.

“You’re awake?”

Leon walked toward him. Lucas’s face was flushed, and cold sweat clung to his forehead. His expression was anxious, uneasy.

It looked like he had just woken from a bad dream.

Leon placed his hand on Lucas’s forehead, then touched his own to compare.

“I don’t think you have a fever, but you’ve been sleeping a lot lately.”

Leon trailed off and stared at Lucas’s face for a moment. Suddenly, his shoulders gave a small jolt.

“Wait… could you be pregnant?”

Lucas shook his head.

“It’s because of Elisha. I’ve been worrying about her a lot.”

He said it firmly, but there was still unease in his voice. If it were pregnancy, he would be happy. But what if it was something else? What if the curse had somehow returned?

No, that could not be. The one who cast the curse was already dead.

“I need to check for myself. No, it’s better to call the physician.”

Leon turned on his heel before he even finished his sentence.

Lucas agreed. Given Leon’s lack of objectivity in moments like this, calling the physician was the better option.

Still dazed and caught off guard by Leon’s reaction, Lucas stared at the door after he left. He began mentally retracing the events of the past few weeks, wondering if he had missed any signs.

His appetite had decreased. He was sleeping more than usual. Even a little movement left him feeling drained, and he had become unusually sensitive, reacting sharply to the smallest things.

He had assumed it was just the stress of worrying about Elisha, but maybe that was not the whole reason. There were more than a few signs pointing toward something else.

Could it be that the tiger cub in his dream was a pregnancy dream?

As he recalled the image of the small cub, its soft fur, and the comforting scent it carried, Lucas felt a quiet happiness spread inside him.

While he was still holding onto that warmth, the physician arrived.

In front of Leon, the physician examined Lucas carefully, then smiled brightly and spoke.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. You are indeed pregnant.”

Lucas did not even have time to feel joy. His first instinct was to look at Leon’s face.

Leon looked completely lost in thought.

“Your Majesty, I am pregnant. Can you at least try to look happy?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Leon responded a moment too late, and Lucas understood why. It was not that he was unhappy. He was worried. Lucas could see that clearly.

To receive a sincere smile from Leon, he needed to ease his fears.

Looking directly at the physician, Lucas asked calmly.

“While studying about pregnancy, I came across something important. I want you to confirm something for me. Is it true that when a recessive omega successfully gives birth for the first time, their body becomes more stable?”

The physician nodded, still smiling gently.

“That is correct. In Your Majesty’s case, you have already given birth to both a prince and a princess. There is no cause for concern.”

“I see.”

Lucas turned to Leon. But even now, his partner’s expression still held unease.

Reading the room, the physician said he would return the next day and quietly stepped out.

“Are you still worried?”

“I am, but…”

Leon ran a hand through his hair. He looked like someone who understood everything rationally but could not convince his emotions to follow. They had stopped using suppressants and had been trying for a baby, but still, the news had caught them off guard.

Lucas realized that Leon might have started to believe that no more pregnancies would come, that it was already too late.

While Lucas was thinking of how to ease Leon’s concerns, the door flew open and Dea and Andrea rushed into the room. They were both out of breath and climbed up onto the bed without hesitation. From the way their faces looked, it seemed like they had been arguing.

Dea, trying to catch her breath, asked calmly.

“Ru-Dad, are you sick? On the way to class, we saw the physician and he told us to come quickly.”

Andrea, sitting beside her with tears in her eyes, asked with a trembling voice.

“Are you hurt? Is it because of Elisha? Did you get sick from missing her too much?”

Since Lucas had not fallen ill once since the children were born, it made sense that they would worry so much.

Lucas held Dea’s hand with one hand and gently patted Andrea’s head with the other.

“You’ve both been so worried because of me. But there’s really nothing to worry about.”

“How can we not worry?”

Tears spilled from Andrea’s eyes.

“You haven’t been coming to meals, and you sleep all the time. Strange rumors started spreading around the palace. In the greenhouse, people were saying things like, what if the animals are cursed again. I growled at them, so they got quiet, but still…”

Andrea trailed off and suddenly buried herself in Lucas’s arms, crying.

“I heard you used to be very sick. I was always afraid something would happen again.”

Lucas gently patted her back, feeling a quiet sense of resolve. He needed to speak with the attendants. Careless talk like this should never have reached the children and made them this anxious. He let out a quiet sigh.

“Come to think of it, we never really explained things properly to you. It makes sense that you were worried.”

Leon spoke quietly, almost to himself.

“Explain what?” Dea asked.

This time, Lucas answered calmly and clearly.

“Dea, Andrea. What I went through in the past is already over, and I’ve fully recovered. The reason I haven’t seemed well lately isn’t because I’m sick. It’s because I’m pregnant.”

Support